Method of forming fabricated walls



Nov; 24; 1942. w, EQRUMSEY 2,303,003

METHOD OF FORMING FABRICATED WALLS Filed March 13, 1940- 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Patented Na 24, 1942' 3 UNITED STATES:

METHOD OF FORMING ranarca'mn WALLS- Walker 1;. Ramsey, vitamin,Application Mmhia, 1040, Serial no." mm

7 (Cl. 20'4i.5)

This invention. relates to the construction of walls, and the presentspecification describes the invention as applied to the construction ofwalls for moving picture sets. The walls of moving picture sets areusually constructed of plywood secured to rigid frames constructed bycarpen-,

' ters. *Unless the plywood is of considerable thickness it isquitereadily vibrated, and sometimes acts as a resonant sounding-board thatmay interfere with technically correct reproduction of sounds occurringon the stage of the set.

= When it is necessary to form a curved wall for a set, it. is necessaryfor the carpenters to construct a frame with a considerable numberofsupports for the rear side of the curved wall in order to givesuiiiicent rigidity to the structure, and to overcome any -tendencies todevelop vibrations and resonance in the wall. On this account it ishighly desirable that a moving picture set should have natural rigiditysufl'icient,

to insure, for example, that when a door in'a wall is slammed, novibration will be apparent in the moving picture.

One of the objects ofthe present invention is to provide a simple methodand apparatus for facilitating the contsruction of moving picture sets,and particularly those involving the use of curved walls.

A further object of the invention is to provide which will have naturalrigidity due to the manner in which the same are fabricated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple method formaking a rigid cursed wall without the necessity for employing clamps orother means for exerting pressure between the layers of material thatare being secured together to form the wall.

structureare broken away. I Fig.-2 is a view similar to Fig.1-,butlessex set constructed in accordance with my method,- andillustrating in section a portion of the ap'- paratus which I prefer toemploy'for accomplishing thepurposes of this invention. In this viewportions of the apparatus and fabricated tensive and of a more or lessdiagrammatic I nature. This view particularly illustrates steps in themethod employed in constructing a set that is to present its concaveface to the camera.

Fig. 3 is a perspective illustrating a portion 3 of a curved fabricatedset constructed in accordance with my invention, and in which the convexface is to be exposed to the camera.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectionthrough a portion of a wall such as couldbe used for a .mov-

ing picture set constructed in accordance with my invention, andincluding a curved portion,

' illustrated in F18. 5.

a simple method for constructing curved walls,

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple method forforming fabricated walls for curved moving picture sets, which will berelativeiy inexpensive as compared with the present methods ofconstructing the same, and which will be substantially unaffected. bysound and vibrationless from sounds produced on the stage, or in itsvicinity. L

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel acts and.

the concave side of which is to be exposed to the camera. I

Fig. 5 is aplan view of the platen and other apparatus employedtherewith for constructing moving picture sets in accordance with mymethod. .In-this view a portion of the platen sheet is broken away so asto expose the trans- .sheet. material is supported with the concave sideuppermost. The material I prefer to em ploy is preferably of a porouscomposition'such as Insulite, or similar material. This material isquite flexible, and when supported on a curved bed or sheet, willreadily assume the form of the supporting sheet or-plate. The sheet'takes its shape by gravity on the bedor' plate. On this bottom layer orsheet I apply an adhesive or cement-over which I apply the second sheetof combination of acts to be'described hereinafter,

all of which contribute to produce an emcient method of fabricating amoving picture set.

In the drawings; Fig. .l is. a vertical section taken through a the vmaterial being employed, such as Insulite. In this way the method may beproceeded with to produce a wall of any desired thickness. The

rigidity of this wall is derived from the fact that the layers, whileholding themselvesin a curved condition, are secured together. By,reason of I this inherent rigidity in this fabricated structure, it isunnecessary to build a frame. onwhich partially formed curved wall for amoving picture the wall material is applied, and which-will give aPATENT sea-ice words, it is merely necessary to attach the fabricatedwall to a light frame, providing a foot or base that will facilitate itsbeing handled on and off of the set, and without necessitating theworkmens placing their hands on the outer or forward face of the wallthat is to be presented to view. and to the camera. The method'may bepracticed in forming a set that is to present a convex face to thecamera, or a concave face. The. fabricating of the wall in each case,necessitates slight variations in the method of securing the abuttingedges of the sheets of material together.

In Fig. l I illustrate one end of a platen I, that is preferably ofsheet metal form and relatively thin, so that it can be readily bent toany desired curve or arc. In order to enable this thin sheet to supportthe weight of a wall fabricated upon it, I prefer to provide its underside with a plurality of transverse bars 2 preferably having across-section of some structural shape, for example, T-iron. Inusing theplaten in fabricating a curved wall 3 such as illustrated in Fig. 1, oneend of the platen i would be raised to an elevated position asillustrated in Fig. 1. In order to do this, of course, the platen isleft unattached to its support. In other words, as illustrated in thepresent drawing, the stiffener bars 2 rest unattached on the upper sideof side bars 4 of a frame that supports the platen. The end of theplaten I may be' connected by a hinge joint 5 to a plate 6 that iscarried on the upper side of a transverse head bar I, which may be ofchannel form, and this bar may be secured to a pair of stanchions 8'that are adjustably secured to blocks 8 at the head of the frame. Anysuitable adjusting means may be provided in the present instance, whichconsists of a bolt l0 secured in the block 9 and passing through alongitudinal slot II. in the stanchion. The

bring the attached faces close together. Due to the inert and inelasticnature of this material, Insulite, the sheets and the longitudinalstrips ll readily assume the curve of the upper face of the platen, andit is unnecessary to employ any high degree of pressure to insure anefficient se-- curing of these parts together. v If the fabricated wallis to present its concave face to the camera, then the longitudinal andcross strips are applied on the under side of the layers of wall sheets23, as indicated in Fig. 2, in which view 24 indicates a cross strip and25 indicates a longitudinal strip placed over the longitudinal seam, orseams, in the wall sheets 23.

If it is desired to forma cap stringer 21 for the upper edge of thewall, these stringers could be formed on the platen in the same way asthe body of the wall, and then attached by cementing the faces of thestringers to the face of the wall body; or, if desired, the

- stringers can be formed directly on the upper stanchion shoud beslotted for a considerable length, and would be attached at its upperend by removable bolts I! to the cross head I. When the platen is notbeing used to form a curved wall, it would lie flat on the frame, andthe stanchions 8 would not be employed. Inorder to provide a positivesupport for the under side of the platen at the curve, and also in'orderto enable it to be given any special form, I provide a plurality ofadjustable members l3. These members have their ends attached to theside bars 4, or to the stanchions 8, and-include tumbuckles l4 foradjusting their length. The upper ends of these members are attached tothe more or less vertical webs of the stiflener bars 2.

In Fig. 1,'I illustrate the fabrication of awall .in which the convexface of the finished fabricated wall is intended to face the camera.This view illustrates the body of the wall as composed of two layers I5and iii of Insulite. In forming a wall of this character, the abuttingtransverse edges ll of the upper layer are covered by transverse stripsit, which may be applied intercostal with longitudinal strips I! thatare laid over the longitudinal seams or longitudinal abuttingedgeslayers 2| and 22. These strips are simply laid in place over theseams after applying the cement or adhesive. and pressed down lightly soas to face of the sheet material by attaching the layers 28successively, at the same time placing the adhesive between all thelayers of material.

It may be necessary to provide means for raising the platen l andholdingthe same at some intermediate point at an elevated position. In order toenable this to be accomplished, the side bars 4 of the frame of theapparatus may be provided with a series of holes 28 into which the lowerends of suitable adjusting members like the adjusting members ll, may besecured.

After the curved wall section such as illustrated in Fig. 3 iscompleted, it may be removed from the platen and set up in an uprightposition. and be secured by adhesive to vertical frame members 34 spacedapart and braced by means of diagonal-braces 3|. These braces can besecured to the vertical members 30 by nails, or by employing small metalfasteners that are driven sidewise across the joint. 4

After the fabricated wall is taken off of th platen, I cover the facethat is to be exposed to the camera, with a flexible waterproof fabric32,

known under the trade name as Fabrikoid.".

Thismaterial can be applied from rolls, and is obtainable in variouscolors, and with different embossed designs, if desired.

In Fig. 4 I illustrate a portion of a curved fabricated wall 33 formedon the platen in the manner indicated in Fig. 2, so as to leave anunobstructed concave face 34 to which the Fabrikoid 35 is applied. ThisFabrikoid is, of course, applied by means of an adhesive.

In this instance, the handling frame for the wall, is located on theconvex side of the curve, and may comprise a plurality of vertical framebars 38 with feet 31 to rest on the floor, and connected by diagonalbraces 38.

If it is necessary to .form a set wall with a corner 38 as illustratedin Fig. 6, I prefer to employ a transverse header plate 40, which is setup across the platen and supported on end bars 4|, the lower ends ofwhich are attached bybolts 42 to the side bars 4 of the frame.

Although I have illustrated the plate I vas mounted and operated 'insuch a way that it presents a concave upper face to receive the layersof material in practicing my method, it is obvious that if desired, theplate I could be supported adiustably so as to present a convex upperface on which the layers of material could rest in using the method. Inany case, the layers base stringer 2! for the bottom of the set, and anupper stringer or.

l forcibly against the lower layers.

of material assume their curved form by the action of gravity. It isunnecessary to clamp them in position or against each other.Howgitudinal tie-strips under the abutting longitudinal edges of thesaid rows, laying an upper layer of similarsheets lying freely on theflrst' layer ever, it is also obvious that if desired, pressure could beapplied to press the uppermost layers This can be more conveniently doneon a concave form than on a"-convex form; and, furthermore, I prefer theconcave form because it leaves the end edges of the layers at anelevated point, which feature I facilitates the application of theadhesive sub- "mediate legs 43, in adr .tion to the end legs 44, and allof the legs may be braced in place by suitable diagonal braces 45.

. What I claim is:

- 1. A method of forming a rigid fabricated wall of curved shape, whichconsists in supporting a layer of flexible sheetmaterial disposed in acurve with its concave side uppermost, applying an adhesive and a secondlayer of flexible material to lie freely upon the upper face of theflrstnamed layer, and thereby permitting the said second layer to assumeby the action of gravity, the curved form of the first-named layer toform a curved body, and covering the forward face of the fabricated bodywith a flexible adhering, sheet presenting a finished surface on itsouter side.

2. A'me'thod of forming a rigid fabricated wall of curved shape, theconvex face of which is to be presented to view, which consists insupporting a layer of sheets of flexible material with their endsabutting, and with their concave side uppermost, applying an adhesiveand a second layer of said'sheets to lie freely upon the upper face ofsaid first layer, so that the said second layer under the action ofgravity, assumes the curved form of the first-named layer, and with theends of the sheets of the second layer abutting each other and formingbutt Joints outof line with the abutting ends of the first-named.sheets,

with adhesive connecting the same, and-so that the upper layer assumesby gravity, the curved form ofthe lower sheets, and covering the concaveface of the body so fabricated, with an adhering flexible sheet having afinished outer surface.

4. A method of forming a rigid fabricated wall of curved shape, whichconsists in supporting a layer of flexible sheet material disposed in a,curve with its concave side uppermost, applying an adhesive, and asecond layer of flexible material to lie freely upon the upper face ofthe first-named layer, and permitting the same to assume by gravity thecurved form of the lower sheet to form a curved body, and stiffening thesaid curved body at separated points by laying and cementing successivelayers of strips of similar material on the upper face of the curvedbody.

5. A method of forming a curved stringer for the upper or lower edge ofa curved wall for a moving picture set, which consists in supporting alayer of flexible strip material disposed in a curve with its upper faceconcave, and applying adhesiveand successive layers of similar materialso as to lie freely .on the concave upper face of the same to form acurved rigid fabricated body. f

6. A method of forming alrigid fabricated wall of curved shape, whichconsists in supporting a layer of flexible sheet material disposed in acurve, applying an adhesive, and a second layer of. flexible material tothe upper face of the first,- named layer to lie freely upon thefirst-named layer so that the same assumes by gravity, the

. curved shape of the first-named layer.

and covering the convex'face of the fabricated porting a layer or rowsofsheets composed of abutting sheets of flexible material disposed in acurve with their concave faces uppermost, placing transverse cross-tiestrips under the abutting ends of said sheetswith' adhesive between thefaces of the sheets and the tie-strips, laying ion- 7. A method offorming a rigid fabricated wall of curved shape, which consists'insupporting a layer of sheets of flexible material with their endsabutting, and with their concave side uppermost, applying an adhesiveand a second layer of said sheets to lie freely upon the upper face ofsaid flrst'layer, so that the said second layer under the action ofgravity assumes the curved form of the first-named layer, and with theends of the sheets of the second layer abutting each other and formingbutt joints out of line with.

the abutting ends of the first-named sheets, placing transverse crosstie-strips adjacent the abutting ends of said sheets only on one side ofthe same with an adhesive between the facesof the-sheets and thetie-strips, and covering the other face of the fabricated body with aflexible adhering sheet havng a finished face on its outer side.

. WALKER E. RUMSEY.

